"Star Trek: Nemesis" released 2002

Star Trek: Nemesis, the fourth and final movie to feature the Next Generation cast, debuted in US theaters December 13, 2002.  The film was the first to feature the Romulans primarily.  Unfortunately, it was not the box-office success as the previous Star Trek movies.  It was the first film that did not open at #1 its first weekend.  Due to its poorer than expected performance, subsequent movies featuring the Next Generation cast were cancelled. 

The original crew of Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton, Brent Spiner, Gates McFadden, Michael Dorn and Marina Sirtis, appeared.  Tom Hardy and Ron Perlman played antagonists.  There were cameos by Kate Mulgrew as Admiral Kathryn Janeway, Wil Wheaton as Wesley Crusher, Majel Barrett as the computer's voice and Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan.  

Tom Hardy was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor. 

"Star Trek: Voyager" premieres 1995

Star Trek: Voyager, the fourth live-action Star Trek series, premiered January 16, 1995.  In the first episode, Caretaker, the star ship Voyager is thrown 70,000 light-years away into the Delta Quadrant along with a Maqui ship full of rebels, some of whom were in Star Fleet.  They have to join an uneasy alliance to make it back home.

It is the first series to have a female captain, Capt. Kathryn Janeway played by Kate Mulgrew.  Robert Beltran played Starfleet-turned-outlaw-turned-Starfleet Commander Chakotay.  I thought he was the coolest second-in-command of all the series and the most under-appreciated.  Voyager also introduced the first character that I really did not like: Neelix.  He was the most annoying of ALL Star Trek characters.

The rest were pretty awesome people.  Garret Wang (Ensign Kim), Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine),  Roxann Dawson (B'Elanna Torres), Robert Duncan McNeill (Lt. Paris), Robert Picardo (the Doctor) and Tim Russ (Lt. Tuvok).

I stopped watching the show after the third season when it became The Janeway/Seven of Nine Show, but I did watch the last season.

Happy birthday, Capt. Janeway!

Beautiful and talented Kate Mulgrew who won the hearts of many Trekkies as Captain Katheryn Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager, was born April 29, 1955 in Dubuque, Iowa.  In 1998, she won a Saturn Award (Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films) and a Golden Satellite for her work on Star Trek: Voyager.